


girls like girls (like boys do)

by roebelenii



Category: Gorillaz
Genre: Coming Out, Family, Gen, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Noodle, Phase Five (Gorillaz), Phase Four (Gorillaz), Phase One (Gorillaz), Phase Three (Gorillaz), Phase Two (Gorillaz)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-04-06 16:36:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14061012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roebelenii/pseuds/roebelenii
Summary: noodle's known for a while, but it took time.





	1. russel - 2002

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! this is a 4 part series about noodle coming out, each chapter is in a different phase to someone different. ch2 is already written and will be posted in a couple days, ch3 and ch4 coming soon!

It was too late for anyone to be awake, really, but here was Russel, mindlessly flipping through the few shitty channels still going at three in the morning. It had been a quiet day, and he had napped for most of the afternoon, after having to wrestle Noodle off of 2D a few times. Behind him, he heard tiny footsteps coming down the stairs.  


"Russel?"  


"Hi, baby, what's up?"  


"Um… jumpy?" She waved her arms around her body to try and communicate. "Ichigo au lait? Oh! Ah, strawberry milk? Too much sugar."  


He chuckled a little. "C'mere, baby girl."  


She jumped up to the couch from behind, and landed sitting next to Russel, and yawned.  


"Seems like you just wanted an excuse to stay up a little later, huh?" She made a little noise and cuddled into his side, looking at the TV.  


"What happen?"  


"Nothing interesting." He reached for the remote, and the screen went black. Noodle seemed to think for a few moments, and Russ realized she was thinking of what she was going to say. He ran his fingers through her short, fine hair, tangled from that damn helmet she always wore.  


"Talked to Del," she said finally.  


"Is that right, baby? What did you talk about?  


"You. Del said you make him happy."  


Russ smiled. "Yeah. He makes me happy too."  


"He said, um, love you? Like on TV, when grownups kiss. But not boy and boy. Only boy and girl kiss on TV." He moved his hand down around Noodle's shoulders. She looked up at his face, curiously.  


"Well, baby, it's true that only boys and girls kiss on TV. But sometimes boys kiss boys, and girls kiss girls, and that's okay. And sometimes boys love boys, and girls love girls, and that's okay too." He pulled her in closer. "But only boys and girls kiss on TV, because a lot of people don't like it when boys kiss boys or girls kiss girls. They get really angry about it."  


She frowned. "Why?"  


"I don't know, baby," he replied. "What I do know is that I love Del, and Del loves me, and when he was alive, we had to be careful. We were scared. People wanted to hurt us because we loved each other."  


Noodle seemed to consider this. "Do I have to kiss boys?"  


He smiled. "Only if you want to, baby. Do you?"  


"Will 2D and Murdoc be angry? If I kiss girls?"  


"Of course not, baby. You're family. Family sticks together."  


"I wanna kiss girls." She yawned and buried her face in Russel's side, and quickly fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> constructive criticism is always welcome! i am open to learning and improving!


	2. murdoc - 2006

Noodle quietly stepped down the stairs into the living room. This felt familiar.

It was three in the morning, and there was no reason for anyone to be awake- in fact, their call time for the El Mañana shoot was in just a few hours. But the TV was on, and Murdoc was sitting on the shitty old sofa they'd had since 1997, watching Big Brother with a can of beer in his hand. She sat down on the other side of the sofa and curled her legs up beside her.

"The plan. One more time."

He looked at her with a tired smile, and let out a breath that could have been a laugh.

"You're going to sit on the edge of the island, and some copters will come shoot at it, and you'll parachute away. It's safe, love. Promise."

He turned his head back to the TV a little too quickly.

"If anything happens to you, I'll come find you. Wherever you are. You'd better hold me to that." He took a sip.

"I trust you." She flopped back into the- frankly disgusting- sofa, and turned towards him. "But, just in case anything does happen, I wanted you to know something." She crossed her arms.

Murdoc frowned. "You're not pregnant, are you?"

"What? I- no, Mudz." She laughed. "No, I'm not pregnant. I, uh…"

He flicked off the TV, and turned to face her. "Pet?"

She looked down. "It's cold in here, isn't it?" She laughed- short, sharp, and nervous.

"Noodle. Look at me."

She lifted her head. Murdoc had an expression she couldn't quite place- understanding, maybe?

"If this is about the fact that you're a lesbian-"

Noodle's eyes widened. "What the fuck?"

He suddenly looked very confused. "Wait. Are you not-"

She started laughing hysterically. "How did you know?"

Murdoc looked relieved. "Love, you followed Neneh around for weeks. You looked like a lovesick puppy."

"You figured it out from just that?"

"Also you've started talking in your sleep. Well, you've always done it, but only recently in English."

Her cheeks flushed, and she covered her face with her hands "Oh my God."

"Love, I- I'm proud of you. This was brave. Even if I already knew." She smiled at him. "Now go to bed. You have an island to parachute off of."

Noodle stood up from the sofa, and paused. "You promise it's safe?"

He turned the TV back on. "Yeah."

She quietly walked back up the stairs. Murdoc took a long sip of his beer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, constructive criticism is welcome!


	3. 2d - 2013

Noodle liked to be on the roof.

2D didn't blame her. She was closer to Russ out of any of them, now, but that didn't mean he didn't miss his baby sister. She was older now, taller, and he caught himself looking at the scar under her eye every time he talked to her. He tried to imagine how she got it but all he thought of was the island, falling, crashing, burning, and he decided he didn't need to imagine. (He had asked once- her eyes glassed over and he didn't see her again for days. Some things aren't meant to be talked about.) 

He was up late one night, too late, when he heard light footsteps coming down the stairs. She looked like a ghost, pale and tired.  
"Hey," he said. She looked up, too quickly- he hadn't realized he was sitting in the dark. "Sorry, I-"  
"No, it's okay," she said, laughing a little. "Hey, when was the last time you ate?"  
He had to think- apparently that was enough for Noodle to throw an unimpressed glare toward him and squeeze past the piles of rubbish to the fridge. She opened it, and looked at the man inside with a mask over his face. He tentatively offered her a jar of jam, and she slammed the fridge door shut. "We're going out," she said, clearly horrified.

It was two in the morning, but there was a 24 hour American-style diner a few blocks away. They settled into one of the booths and ordered more waffles than they could possibly eat, as well as coffee that Noodle claimed was like "drinking jet fuel" (he would never admit he liked it better than the fancy stuff she buys from expensive cafes) and French fries topped with plasticky American cheese and caramelized onions. They talked while they waited for the food, both trying to make each other laugh louder and louder, annoying the exhausted waitress behind the counter.

"I missed you," he said.  
"Missed you too," she replied, smiling.  
"So have you met any boys? Anyone who needs a good old fashioned threat from your big brother?" he teased, leaning over the table.  
She looked up. "So about that."  
He fell back, flailing his arms. "No, no no no, I wasn't serious, Noodle you don't actually expect me to go threaten someone, do you? I mean I can try but-"  
Noodle burst out laughing, slapping her hand on the table. "Chii, no, nothing like that, I promise," she managed between laughs. "No, it's actually about the 'boys' part."  
"What are you saying?"  
"I'm a lesbian, 'D."

He squinted at her, confused. "I thought you were Japanese."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI IM BACK !!
> 
> some updates:  
> -i know its not technically phase 3 or even canon anymore but noodle and 2d didnt meet on plastic beach so  
> -i had to do the reference ok  
> -no i didn't abandon this fic im definitely gonna finish it  
> -changed to 5 chapters because i started this before phase 5 was announced  
> -it's 3:30 am and im only going a lil bit insane  
> -shoutout to prism from the kong studios discord for actually getting me to finish this fucking chapter  
> -this is when i realized how i actually have no idea how to write 2d
> 
> as always constructive criticism is greatly appreciated and i love getting comments !! also if you really love this i have another gorillaz fic posted here and i'm planning on writing more this summer (as well as possibly some non gorillaz stuff? we'll see)
> 
> (also mikey if youre reading this hi ily)


End file.
